Cleared for Contact
by Bryn Gwyrdd
Summary: A long day gets longer when Amanda gets a phone call that sends her racing to find Lee to reconnect. A same-day sequel to "Femmes Fatales". Credit to Lanie Sullivan for a stellar beta-read and to Clagjanet for the title suggestion. ;-)
Disclaimer: I do not own of these characters; they are the property of Shoot the Moon Enterprises and Warner Bros. Television. I acknowledge gratefully the hard work of the creators of the series who brought to life characters we like so much we can't let them go.

Thanks as always to my long-suffering beta, Lanie Sullivan, who catches all my canon errors as well as everything else. Any errors that remain are all mine.

Thanks also to Clagjanet for the title. ;-)

* * *

It had only been a few hours but it felt like she'd been sitting in his apartment forever, waiting and worrying. She had no reason to worry, she knew that, but she couldn't help it. The call had come just after the interruption for breaking news on Channel 7. She had been frozen in place, watching the coverage of the fire at the Danton estate when the phone rang. She'd jumped on the receiver, picking up almost on the first ring, desperate to get to it before anyone else in the house. Rocking back and forth as she sat curled up on the couch now, she relived that moment of pure paralyzing fear, when her heart had plummeted into her stomach as she'd heard not Lee's voice but Francine's. The blood had been pounding so hard in her ears that she had been almost unable to take it in, that all Francine was saying over and over was "Lee's fine. Amanda, he's fine."

"Then why are you calling? What's happened to him?"

"There was a fire at Elisa Danton's house tonight. The entire second floor is burnt out. She'd be dead if Lee hadn't been there, and she's on her way to hospital but he's fine."

"I can see the fire on the news right now but if he's fine, why are _you_ calling?" She'd tried not to sound annoyed, but anxiety was making her speak more sharply than usual.

"Because Lee's still stuck there, trying to figure out how the fire started. She was attacked by an intruder in her bedroom apparently. He won't have had time to call you and he'll need to brief Billy after that but when I realized the news crews were there – well, I didn't want you hearing about it on the news without knowing he's okay."

She'd put her head in her hand, desperately trying to catch her breath. "Thank you Francine" she'd finally managed to say "It was good of you to call." She had dropped the phone back in its cradle and doubled over the side of the couch, trying to control the fear-induced nausea that still threatened to overcome her. She'd only looked up when she heard her mother appear at the top of the kitchen steps.

"Amanda?" She'd looked with concern at her daughter's pale face. "Who was that calling? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Mother. That was just someone from IFF letting me know that there was an accident on the set tonight and –," she stopped, suddenly just _so_ tired of lying to her mother. "Lee was there, and she wanted to let me know he was alright in case he couldn't call until later." She stood abruptly and grabbed her car keys from the counter. "I have to go."

"Oh my God, Amanda! Of course you do! Oh poor Lee! They're sure he wasn't hurt? Was anyone else hurt?"

Dotty was babbling out questions Amanda didn't have answers for until finally Amanda held up a hand to stop her. "Mother! All I know is that he wasn't hurt but I just have to go – I have to -," she paused, unable to get out a coherent thought.

"You have to go see for yourself," Dotty nodded knowledgeably. "Of course you do, My Darling. You go and be with Lee tonight. I'll make sure Phillip and Jamie get to school in the morning – it's not like they're little boys anymore."

"Thank you Mother." Amanda hugged her mother fiercely, grateful she understood. "But Mother, don't tell the boys about any of this. Just say I had to go to work early– I don't want them to worry. They've had enough to worry about already this year."

"No, I won't say a word. You give Lee my love and we'll see you tomorrow."

Her mother had given her one last hug at the back door and she had driven to his apartment to wait. That had been almost two hours ago and now the adrenaline of fear was wearing off and the weariness was setting in. She wished she'd gone to the Agency or asked Francine exactly where Elisa lived – anywhere where Lee might be. Francine had said he was fine, but why was it taking him so long to come home? She panicked, wondering if he'd had to go hospital after all and they were trying to contact her at home. Or maybe he might have gone to her house instead? _No_ , she scolded herself, he didn't know she knew about the fire and he wouldn't have gone there this late on a school night in case he'd woken up the family.

"A school night," she laughed hollowly to herself. How times have changed that Lee would actually think about it being a school night before showing up at her house. She got up and walked to the kitchen to put the kettle on, desperate for something to do. As she leaned on the counter, literally watching a pot boil, she heard the quiet snick of the front door lock, followed by the almost silent whisper of the door being opened slowly. She suddenly remembered he had no idea she was there and was obviously coming in on full alert for intruders.

"Lee? It's just me," she called out as she darted out of the kitchen.

"Amanda? What are you doing here?" She rounded the corner in time to see him flick the safety on his handgun back into position before he slipped it back into his belt holster.

"The fire was on the news," she answered, racing forward to throw herself into his outstretched arms.

"Oh God, I didn't realize. I should have called."

"It's fine – Francine did."

"That's good but it's still not okay. I should have thought of it when I saw the news crews were there."

She shrugged, still within the circle of his arms. "You were working, I get it, it's fine." The way she was clinging to him told him a different story though and he could have kicked himself for worrying her. They stood for a moment, his head resting wearily on hers before she finally had to wriggle free and step back wrinkling her nose. "Although it smells like you were working as a fireman. Just how close did you get to that fire anyway?"

He lifted his arm to sniff the sleeve of his navy suit jacket, an expression of distaste crossing his face when he realized how saturated it was with the smell of smoke. "Damn it, I love this suit." He slipped it off and Amanda took it to hang by the front door. "I'm going to go grab a quick shower and get it off the rest of me too."

"Don't worry – the dry cleaners will get the smell out. At least I hope so – it smells of perfume as well." She cocked one eye at Lee over her shoulder, then turned to hide her smile at his grimace of mixed guilt and annoyance.

"Yeah, everything in Elisa's house smells of it – she's not known for moderation in anything." By now Lee had stripped off his tie and was working somewhat frantically at the shirt button at his neck. Amanda wandered back and batted his hands aside to help him, enjoying the flush that was rising in his cheeks.

"I believe you – it's really sunk in to … everything… you're wearing." She leaned forward as she continued to undo his shirt buttons and dropped a light kiss on his chest.

"Um, well, it probably didn't help that I had to carry her downstairs to get her out of the fire."

"You carried her? All the way from _upstairs_?" Amanda murmured under her breath as she turned away to drop his shirt on the couch. She couldn't resist giving a tiny sigh as she did so. "Of course you did. The things you do for your country." She almost laughed out loud at the anxious grunt he made at that comment. She wondered how much of the looks and sniggers he'd noticed during his forays into the office that day. Unlike her, he'd been dashing in and out between trips to the Pentagon and the Danton estate and hadn't been exposed to as much of it as she had, but she knew he'd probably heard enough for her comment to sting, ever so slightly.

She knew with absolute certainty that he hadn't done anything with Elisa Danton, but after all the nonsense she'd put up with today, it was a guilty pleasure watching him squirm with worry that she wasn't sure. _Ah well_ she thought _it's good for him to be the one off-balance once in a while and he did promise to distract me later_. And since they'd hardly seen each other all day, she knew something he didn't about the coming distractions.

"Uh, yeah. Look I'm going to go rinse all this stink off – you're staying, right?"

"Oh yes. Mother isn't expecting me back. She's going to tell the boys I've been called in early." She ran her tongue gently along her lips and watched with satisfaction as the flicker of desire appeared in his eyes. She purposely made her voice bright and breezy as she turned away, in response to the whistling kettle. "You go take that shower. I'll still be here when you come out." She stifled a giggle as she walked back to the kitchen to turn off the stove, knowing he hadn't moved for several seconds after she walked away. She heard him shake himself and vanish into the bathroom. When she heard the water turn on, she walked quickly back to the bedroom and began ransacking the drawers where she kept her spare clothes.

When she found what she was looking for, she gave a quiet crow of pleasure and quickly stripped off what she was wearing and pulled on her find. Leaning in the bathroom doorway, she stood for a moment admiring Lee's silhouette in the steam. "So I've had an interesting day," she called out over the sound of the running water.

"Have you? More interesting than escaping a fire?" joked Lee

 _And Elisa_ , thought Amanda to herself, before saying out loud. "Well, maybe not, but I did find out that earring was delivered straight from Captain Carpenter's office."

"Yeah, Billy mentioned that. Good work." She could see Lee was scrubbing himself furiously like something out of 'Silkwood', trying to eradicate the perfume.

"And I had a really fun run-in with Fred – did Francine tell you?"

"No – should she have?"

"No, we took care of him. He's in fear for his life and not sure what shoulder to look over for safety."

"Glad to hear it. What was his problem this time? Did you outperform him on certification tests again?"

"Oh just the usual. He met me coming out of Dr. Kelford's office and couldn't resist making a crack about joining you for a threesome with Elisa now that I'm fully cleared."

She could hear the grunt of annoyance from Lee before he snapped, "That sonofabitch! I am so goddamn tired of all his –." She grinned as he stopped abruptly and she knew he'd taken in the rest of what she'd said. The water suddenly stopped but she could still see his outline standing stock still.

"Amanda? Did you say Doc Kelford gave you the all-clear?"

"Yep. I am officially free to pursue all physical activity." She paused slightly before going on, "I hope that wasn't a cold shower you were taking." She turned and walked back into the bedroom to wait, not that she had to wait for long. Lee appeared in the doorway of the bathroom within seconds, hair on end, still covered in droplets of water, towel wrapped loosely around his waist. When he saw her standing there, wearing the nightgown he hadn't seen since their wedding night and a come-hither smile, he was across the room, almost without touching the floor and she was in his arms.

"All clear? Really?" When she nodded, he tilted his head and pretended to glare at her down his nose. "And you didn't tell me this until now because…?"

"Well, you had a hot date tonight, Big Fella. I didn't want to distract you with domestic… considerations."

"Amanda! It wasn't a date! It wasn't anything but a witness interview with dinner thrown in. In fact, I was already halfway to the car when the fire alarm went off. You know -."

She laid her hand across his mouth. "Lee, of course I know. I know because your top shirt button was still done up and you wouldn't have bothered with that at the end of an evening if it had ever been undone. I know because you have perfume everywhere but no lipstick. I know because Francine told me Elisa was attacked in her bedroom and you obviously weren't up there to stop them." She could see his exasperation rising at her list and smiled. "And I _know_ because, despite having to put up with people like Fred all day, I _know_ you love me and I know you only fool around with one woman." She reached up and brought his head down to hers for a long tender kiss. "Your wife."

"My wife," said Lee contentedly. His hands began to roam up and down, caressing her over the silk of the negligee she was wearing. "My beautiful, beautiful, _fully-cleared_ wife."

"Fully cleared," repeated Amanda. "Ten weeks have never gone so slowly." She couldn't control her shivers as Lee's hands continued to explore, even as her own hands drifted over the planes of his body, smoothing away the droplets of water that remained from his shower, although most of them were disappearing rapidly as his skin heated with the flush of arousal. Her hands traced down the hard muscles of his abdomen, until she reached the towel still wrapped around his hips and with one firm movement, tugged it off. As she reached down to grasp him firmly and run her hand up and down his velvet length, he gave off a hum of approval that resonated through his whole body.

Lee in turn worked to slowly raise her negligee until his hands were resting against on her bare hips and his erection was sandwiched between the silky warmth of her skin and the cool silk of the nightgown which was now draped partially over him. He began to kiss her, gently at first but when he felt her tongue run along his lip, it became more forceful, and soon became a duel of tongues and teeth and roaming hands that ended only when they both needed to stop and gasp for air.

Leaning back, he slipped a hand between her legs, delighting in what he felt there and watching her eyes darken to obsidian pools at his touch. "God, you are already so wet for me. This _is_ for me, right?"

Amanda couldn't stop the moan she gave off as his fingers began to caress her with just the right amount of pressure. "Yessss" she hissed out. "It's all for you but keep that up and this will be over before it's begun." She gasped as his fingers began to slide in and out, while his thumb circled the sensitized bud. "Don't forget I've had all day thinking about this."

"Is that a challenge, Mon Amour?" murmured Lee.

"It's your mission, should you choose to accept it" was all she managed to gasp out before Lee wrapped his spare arm around her waist and half-dragged her across the room until her back was resting against the wall for support.

"I bet I can get you to self-destruct in less than ten seconds," he growled into her ear, receiving an encouraging breathless laugh in response and then almost a whimper, cracking with desire, "That sounds like a win-win bet for me."

With his left hand, he pulled the negligee off one shoulder to bare her breast, then leaned down to take the rock hard nipple in his mouth, tugging and licking feverishly, while he stroked her more firmly, increasing the speed to match the way she was bucking uncontrollably against his fingers. Her hands were now grasping his shoulders, her head was tilted back against the wall and her feet were almost slipping out from under her as she bore down on his hand. Her moans had turned to a guttural chanting of his name, increasing in volume as the climax washed over her and then she lost all ability to form even that one syllable. As her body shuddered with the waves, she fell against him, shaking, and he took her full weight, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in her neck. He smiled against her skin as he inhaled the familiar scent of simple soap and shampoo, along with the musk of her orgasm. It was so much more arousing than the cloying perfume Elisa had been wearing earlier that he could feel himself becoming overwhelmed with his desire for her.

He reached down to grasp her nightgown and slide it up over her head and off, a smiling Amanda, lifting her arms lazily to let him do so before leaning back in to press her now-bare flesh against his as he tossed it to one side and leaned down to kiss her tenderly. Her flushed skin and the hardened nipples rubbing against his chest told him volumes of how badly she wanted him and he gloried in it.

"I need you, Amanda" he whispered against her cheek as he lifted her up and walked towards the bed, never stopping the caress of his lips on her face and neck as he did so. He lowered her gently to the bed, lost in her eyes as she lay back, holding out her arms to him.

"I need you too," she answered. He lay down beside her, fingers tracing her cheek and lips, mesmerized by her eyes, shining with desire and love for him. He ran his hand along her face, then down her neck to her shoulder and then to her breast, enjoying the shivers she couldn't help as her nerve endings tingled along the path of his hand. As he began to rub a thumb lazily over her nipple to the accompaniment of appreciative noises from his wife, his eyes dropped for the first time to the scar on her chest, a scar that hadn't been there the last time they'd been intimate, a scar that told the story of how he'd almost lost her before their life together had even begun, a scar he knew had a match on her back from the bullet that had forced itself all the way through her fragile body. He'd seen it many times of course since then, helping her with bandages, or to get dressed at the hospital but he realized that this was the first time he'd really looked at it, not as a problem to be solved but as a part of who she was now.

Amanda watched with a twinge of despair at the way his face darkened as he stared at that mark on her chest, before reaching up to caress his face and bring his gaze back to meet hers. "Hey buddy, my eyes are up here," she teased him trying to lighten his mood.

He tried to smile at her joke but couldn't make it last. "I told you to get in the car," he whispered, with that shadow still in his eyes.

With a sigh, she pushed him onto his back and then sat upright and straddled his legs. She pointed to the scar in his upper thigh and began her recitation. "Standish. I got in the van. And then I had to go back out and drag you in there with me." She pointed to the newest scar along his side. "McMasters. I wasn't with you to watch your tail."

She shifted up his body until the apex of her thighs was nestled against his arousal. He grinned then as she almost absentmindedly began to stroke him as she continued, running a finger along the knife scar on his right arm. "Barnstorm. Barely got there in time with the car to stop this being so much worse." Her eyes flicked up to meet his, unable to stop the shudder as she thought about how close he'd come to being blinded that day. He watched as she shook it off and pointed to his left shoulder.

"Russell Sinclair. You were alone in the car. You were _supposed_ to be letting Billy drive you home but you were alone." She traced that scar for a moment, not looking up at him and he knew she was recalling those days when she'd been told he was dead. He'd been alone then in so many ways, he reflected. They had only been friends when that scar had joined the list, but her reaction to his reappearance had been so unexpected, so natural, so emotional – so Amanda. He'd been surprised to find out he had a friend that cared that deeply about him and was willing to admit it. Even Francine's relief at his reappearance had been tinged with annoyance that she hadn't been in on something with Scarecrow but even back then, Amanda's had been all about him.

"Hey," he reached up to run his fingers along her chin, leaving them to rest on her lips. "I'm sorry." He wasn't even sure anymore which thing he was apologizing for.

She shrugged and leaned forward to run her fingers over the scar on the right side of his chest. "Ivan's Christmas present. You were trying to keep me safe and I ended up having to try and end the Cold War single-handed. It never seems to make a difference for either of us whether I stay in the car or not." She leaned all the way down until her chest scar was resting against his and tilted her head to look up at him. "And now it's like we have matching tattoos. It's sort of romantic really, when you think about it."

"Sort of romantic," he repeated, chuckling at her irrepressible ability to find the light in any situation. "Oh Amanda, I do love you. Have I mentioned that lately?" Her smile was radiant as she reached up to kiss the dimple she'd teased back to his cheek.

His breath caught at the movement of her body along his, running her warm satin folds along his engorged flesh, flesh that was almost acting of its own accord, reaching for the haven it knew was within reach.

Amanda began to whimper quietly, a low noise in the back of her throat as she pleasured herself, rubbing against him like a cat and leaving him slick with her juices. When she raised herself off his chest and moved as if she was going to lay back down beside him, he grabbed her hips and held her still.

"No," he murmured. "I want to be able to watch you." There was barely time for the slight confusion to register on her face before he drove himself upwards, filling her completely in a single stroke. The scream she gave out had nothing to do with pain – it was a pure feral scream of satisfaction, one he echoed as her tight warmth enveloped him.

As if by silent agreement, neither of them moved for a moment, simply breathing heavily, eyes locked, as they readjusted to the joining they'd both been missing for too long. He reached up to caress her cheek, then dropped his hands back down to her breasts, his lips quirking up at the sigh of contentment she gave as his thumbs gently flicked her nipples. She began to rock languorously against him and he bent his legs until his feet were flat on the bed so he could push up into her slowly. When his hands drifted down to her sides, however, and he began running his fingers over the sensitive ticklish skin above her pelvis, it was like a dam broke and she fell forward, hands braced on his shoulders as she began lifting herself off him and plunging back down in a frenzy as if she could force him deeper into her body. He did his best to fulfill that wish, driving upwards as he grasped her hips firmly, his need matching hers in appetite.

All too soon, he could see the telltale signs he'd only been able to fantasize about for weeks: the unconscious way she leaned back against his thighs and slowed her own movement to rub her inner wall against his motion, the way her eyes glazed over and then closed, and her chin dropped to her chest as if she could only cope with the oncoming climax by shutting down all the other senses as she concentrated on the impending pleasure. Then came the flush that instantly saturated her skin and the keening moan that almost sent him over the edge all on its own, in the split second before she began to spasm around him. He managed to hold on, watching her come apart until she collapsed back on his chest, shaking. In one quick movement, he flipped their joined bodies over and began to slide in and out of her molten core which continued to clamp onto him, his strokes in rhythm to the way she was calling his name until finally he could take no more and emptied himself inside her, crying out his love for her as he toppled into the momentary blackout of sensory overload.

They clung to each other in the aftermath, hearts pounding together, his weight pressing her back into the mattress, unaware that he was covering her protectively in the way he hadn't in Las Palmas that day. Amanda knew it though and held him close, until she felt his pulse begin to slow and his breath became steadier.

"Merci, Ma Chère," she breathed into his ear with a smile in her voice and felt as much as heard his answering laugh.

He rolled to the side then, keeping her enclosed in his arms and dropping kisses on her temple. "Oh Morticia, how I've missed you all these months."

"Me too." She snuggled closer, already feeling the post-coital lassitude starting to overtake her. "We have a lot of lost honeymoon to make up for." She couldn't keep in an enormous yawn. "Starting tomorrow."

Lee smiled into her hair as he felt her relax against him, already beginning the slide into sleep comforted by the safety of his embrace. He couldn't tell why he felt the sting of tears; all he knew was that he had found his way home.

* * *

It said everything about Lee's training that he managed to sound even halfway coherent when the phone rang a few hours later.

"Hi Billy, what's up?"

Amanda dragged herself awake to hear Lee's side of the conversation.

"Already? Wow, that was fast. Smyth must have been burning every IOU he has to get that one… No, no it shouldn't wait until the morning – if Carpenter is involved, the more of a jump I have on him the better. I'll swing by the Agency and then head for the Pentagon tonight." There was a longer pause while Billy obviously filled him in on the fire department report. Then, "What? Oh no, it's okay. Francine called her as soon as the news reports hit and then I got hold of her when I got home."

Amanda smothered a giggle into his chest as Lee's arm tightened his hold on her as he spoke.

"She knows I'm fine… She's what? All-clear? Really? No, she didn't mention that; we didn't talk much. That's good – maybe I'll send her for the next round with Elisa if we need one… Just ask Fred, he's learned the hard way not to mess with her." Lee exploded in laughter at Billy's response and then finished with, "Please don't. Okay, I'll see you soon. I'm on my way."

He dropped the phone back on its stand and drew her in close to him. "I'm sorry, love, but duty calls."

"At midnight?" she couldn't help asking.

"Dr. Smyth's managed to pull some strings and gotten us permission to search Carpenter's office. Either he's in on it or he's got the paperwork to show who is. If I go now, I'll have hours to search before he even shows up with his morning donut. But believe me, I'd rather be here."

He hugged her close for a long kiss, then turned to roll out of the bed. When she made a motion as if she was going to follow suit, he leaned back and grabbed her hand. "Amanda? Would you stay here? You said your mother isn't expecting you back and I probably won't be back before you have to go to work, and I know this is going to sound dumb but I'd like to think that if I could make it back, you'd still be here." He leaned down to kiss her gently again. "In our bed. Naked." He couldn't seem to stop his hands from cupping her breasts and thumbing her nipples to pebbles again.

"It doesn't sound dumb at all and I have no intention of leaving. I just wanted to get up and see you off to work." She had lifted her hand to the back of his neck and pulled him back in for another kiss. "Like a proper wife," she added with a mischievous look.

"I like my wives to be quite improper actually," grinned Lee, now pushing the sheets aside to expose her fully, and running his fingertips down her ribs lightly, knowing from the way she was biting her lip and shivering that she was as aroused as he was.

She pushed his hands away with a groan of frustration. "Hold that thought, Stetson. I will be as improper as you like tomorrow, but after all this time, I can't bear the thought of getting hot and heavy with you for only a few minutes before you have to leave again."

"I'll make sure it's worth waiting for then," he chuckled as he pulled the sheets back up over her and stood up.

"I'll look forward to it," answered Amanda. She rolled on her back, head resting on the arm folded behind her and watched him dress. "In fact, I might not wait." She grinned as Lee's eyes followed the suggestive motion of the arm she still had under the sheets and he groaned.

"You are trying to kill me, aren't you, Mrs. Stetson?"

"Nope, just encouraging you to hurry home, Ma Chère."

Lee grinned at her as he did up his tie. "I have never needed encouragement to do that. And I will see you tomorrow, hopefully sooner than later."

"Be careful out there" As he stood up and went to leave the room, she called him back, "Lee? What did Billy say that made you laugh so hard just now?"

"He said he's thinking about partnering you and Francine permanently because whatever you two did today made Fred request a transfer to Guam."

He smiled with delight as the sound of his wife's laughter followed him out the door.


End file.
